A comprehensive analysis of photothermal therapy (PTT) and photodynamic therapy (PDT) for the treatment of cancer

Photothermal and photodynamic therapies use light to target and eliminate cancer cells by raising the temperature or producing reactive oxygen species. To understand the main effect of both the therapy, studies are going on at the cellular level. Based on the distinct mode of action both photodynamic and photothermal therapy may work synergically according to recent studies. As both therapies are non-toxic, the combination of these two may be more effective for curing cancer. Additionally, a combination of the two therapies is being used to develop nano-platforms that incorporate simultaneously photothermally and photodynamically active drugs. In this review, we have discussed the basic mechanism of both the therapy and different mechanisms such as cell death mechanism, vascular damage, extracellular matrix effect as well as immune effect. Along with that, we have also discussed different factors that can affect photodynamic and photothermal therapy. Additionally, we have also discussed the different types of nanomaterials that can be useful for photodynamic therapy as well as in photothermal therapy.